Note that it starts at the hip, and is not the same as the ‘inseam’ measurement. Here is an example of how leg reach is measured by the UFC, as noted by ‘Line B’. So how is leg reach measured in the UFC? According to SportsJoe.ie, “leg reach is measured from the hipbone to the heel”, meaning that just the fighter’s individual leg is measured, and not the span of their legs, as is done with the arms. Of course, this is not very common to see, as this stat is useless in boxing for example, where the “tale of the tape” style stats originally come from. This makes sense, as a fighter has a limited range with their kicks as they do with their punches. In late 2015, the UFC started to measure leg reach and included it as a stat for each of their fighters. So we’ve covered reach/wingspan and ape index, but the UFC also measures another type of reach: leg reach. However, you can tell that Jon Jones has an odd body composition, because he ALWAYS has the reach advantage with his +9 ape index. McGregor’s ape index is +5, which is relatively high, and he is usually at a reach advantage against his opponents. However, their ape index is narrower than their actual reach, and it gives you more insight into how much of an advantage their reach gives them, regardless of height. Dude can scratch his knee without bending over.įor example, Jon Jones, a light-heavyweight who is 6’4, will obviously have a much longer reach than Conor McGregor, who is a 5’9 lightweight. This picture gives you an idea of how crazy Jones’ reach is. The ape index basically tells you how much longer a fighter’s arms are than his height, which you can gauge their relative advantage with. Ape index is talked about often due to its relation to the fighter’s height. I believe it is the biggest ape index in the UFC ever. Then, we subtract that from his wingspan/reach (which is 85 inches), and we get Jones’ ape index, which is +9. For example, to find the ape index of Jon Jones, we take his height in inches, which is 76 inches. What Is An Ape Index In MMA?Ī fighter’s ape index is the difference between their wingspan and their height.

The difference in measurement between height and wingspan is known as a fighter’s “ape index”. This is why you the reach listed for UFC fighters is almost as long as they are tall, as typically a person’s wingspan is about the same as their height. Here’s an image of McGregor getting his reach measured prior to his UFC debut. The image below shows exactly how it is measured, courtesy of pre-tattoo Conor McGregor. So as already mentioned, a fighter’s reach is basically mastered from fingertip to fingertip, with the arms stretched out. In the rest of the post, I’m going to show you how the wingspan/reach gets measured, as well as what an ape index is, and how it relates to reach. In other words, reach is measured the same way as arm span or wingspan would be. In short, the UFC measures a fighter’s reach by measuring the distance from fingertip to fingertip when their arms are stretched out, parallel to the ground. You may have seen the reach of some fighters and noticed that it is very long, sometimes longer than their own height in inches! So how does the UFC measure reach? So as you likely know, fighters usually have their reach listed in their stats, along with their record, height, and weight.

Jon jones wingspan